Revising & Editing
What Is a Professional Editor and Why Should Writers Use One?
Editor is a very broad term in the publishing industry that can mean a variety of things. Tiffany Yates Martin reveals what a professional editor is and why writers should consider using one.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Not Identifying Your Reader in Self-Help Writing
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is not identifying your reader in self-help writing.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Lack of Examples in Self-Help Writing
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is a lack of examples in self-help writing.
7 Essentials for Effective Copywriting
Copywriting principles to apply to any form, from marketing to personal essays.
Deleting Your Cheating Words: Time to Up Your Game
Looking to up-level the quality of your written work? Kris Spisak shows writers one big step they can take to do so.
Editorial Road-Mapping: Start Your Self-Editing Process Here
Editorial road-mapping begins with a challenge of willpower and ends with a battle-plan for transforming your manuscript into the book you dreamed it could be. Let editor Kris Spisak give you that map!
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Revising While Writing
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is revising while writing.
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Refraining to Revise Writing
The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is refraining to revise writing.
6 Tips for Creating and Editing an Anthology That Readers Love
Editor Jennifer Haupt delivers the top tools for creating a cohesive and engaging anthology that writers will be excited to be a part of and readers will fall in love with.
Polishing Your Prose: Tips for Self-Editing
Help your freelance writing land better with editors and increase your chances of getting published with these 11 proven tips for self-editing.
Wait! 5 Novel Editing Questions to Ask Before Your Book Is Actually Done!
In this post, Kris Spisak shares 5 novel editing questions to ask before any next steps in the publishing process, including "does your story have a strong narrative drive," "is your protagonist too passive," and more.
The Psychology Behind Poor Early Drafts and 5 Steps to Making Sense of Them
Mackenzie Belcastro addresses writers who are despairing over their early drafts, highlighting five ways you can persevere and discover your story within them.
7 Strategies for Revising Your Novel
The rewrite is tougher than the draft. But the right rewrite strengthens your fiction into something that lasts to publication and gains a significant readership. Boost your novel-polishing skills with these seven strategies.
Proof Reading: Catching Wrong-Word Errors
Learning how to catch wrong-word errors will help you prevent them and correct them while you're proof reading your work.
The Copy Editing and Proofreading Checklist All Writers Need
Here are 26 important items you should check when copy editing and proofreading your manuscript.
9 Ways You Succeed When Your First Draft Fails
For every way our first drafts fail, they get us farther down the road to success. Here's what you can learn from your first draft.
5 Key Questions Writers Should Ask When Revising Writing
As a longtime nonfiction book and magazine editor, Debbie Harmsen has given notes on revising numerous manuscripts and articles. Here's what all writers should know.
6 Things to Consider After You Write Your First Draft
Here are a few things to consider after you’ve written your first love—uh—I mean draft.
10 Reasons Why Freelance Writers Shouldn't Use Autocorrect on Mobile Gadgets
I strongly recommend bloggers to turn off the autocorrect on your phone. And here are 10 reasons to assure you.
The Art of Writing is in the Rewriting
Writing is about getting down to it, about finding your way into the moment and sustaining the energy for as long as you can effectively. But the REAL writing is during revision.
7 Reasons to Write an Entire 1st Draft before Going Back to the Beginning
There are important benefits of writing a novel or memoir from beginning to end before going back and starting again. Here are seven of them that you should know.
Cut Your Story Down to Size
Is your manuscript too long? Many of the queries I receive begin, “In my 200,000-word novel….” I stop right there. As I tell all of my clients, I can’t sell anything over 120,000 words by a first-time writer. “Help me cut it,” they say, knowing that I spent some 15 years as an editor before becoming an agent.
How to Edit and Polish Your Writing
Most manuscripts start out a little messy. Try these thoughtful approaches to polishing your prose.
5 Ways to Deal With Word Repetition
Word repetition can really weigh down your writing and slow down readers. Try out these 5 simple ways to tackle word repetition and improve your writing skills.